Vowels Before These Clusters: ng / nk

Vowels Before NG and NK

Level 1

Before ng and nk: a → á (langur), e → ei (lengi), i → í (hringur), u → ú (ungur), ö → au (söngur).

How It Works

  • a sounds like á (ow): langur (long), svangur (hungry), banki (bank).
  • e sounds like ei (ay): lengi (for a long time), drengur (boy), enginn (nobody).
  • i and y sound like í (ee): hringur (ring), syngja (sing), fingur (finger).
  • o sounds like ó: this is rare, because most such words are spelled with ó anyway, as in kóngur (king).
  • u sounds like ú (oo): ungur (young), tunga (tongue).
  • ö sounds like au: söngur (song), löng (long, feminine).

Vowels that are already accented or already a pair, such as á, í, ei and au, do not change. See á é í ó ú ý and æ au ei ey.

The g in ng is said like an unaspirated k: langur sounds roughly like lowng-kur. Before e or i, ng and nk also take a y glide: lengi, banki. See k and g before front vowels.

In parts of the Westfjords, some speakers keep the plain vowel (langur with a plain a). This is a correct regional form. See regional pronunciation.

Examples (5)

  1. Ég er svangur.

    I am hungry.

    Word by Word: I am hungry.

    a in svangur sounds like á. (A man or boy says svangur; a woman says svöng.)

  2. Ég fer í bankann.

    I am going to the bank.

    Word by Word: I go into the-bank.

    a in bankann sounds like á.

  3. Hann hefur búið hér lengi.

    He has lived here for a long time.

    Word by Word: He has lived here long.

    e in lengi sounds like ei.

  4. Hún er ung og syngur vel.

    She is young and sings well.

    Word by Word: She is young and sings well.

    u in ung sounds like ú and y in syngur like í.

  5. Söngurinn er langur.

    The song is long.

    Word by Word: The-song is long.

    ö in söngurinn sounds like au and a in langur like á.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing the accented vowel you hear.

    Ég er svángur.
    Ég er svangur.

    The á sound before ng is only pronunciation. Modern spelling keeps the plain vowel.

  • Writing ei before ng.

    Hann hefur búið hér leingi.
    Hann hefur búið hér lengi.

    lengi is said with an ei sound but spelled with plain e.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Vowels Before These Clusters: ng / nkLevel 1Vowels Before NG and NK

Learn This First

This sound change builds on the accented vowels and vowel pairs.